Zimbabwe: If The World Had Another Hitler...
What if the Arabs had recognized Israel in 1948?
Why Hitler Must Die
Dirty old man - If Khushwant Singh had a mobile!
What Would You Do If You Had Your Own Country?
Tilling the barren Zimbabwe
During the Rhodesian bush war, we had local musicians singing about the war and the political events in the country. The bush war was brutal and bloody and lasted for about 14 years.
One of the people that sand ‘troopie songs’ was the son-in-law of the Rhodesian Prime Minister, the late Ian Douglas Smith, Clem Tholet. Clem sadly died of cancer at 59 in late 2004.
I am the proud owner of Clem’s record “Songs of Love and War” and whilst I truly love “Peace Dream” and “Song for Johnny”, the song that I think caught the moment then, and foretold much of what is happening today, is “Another Hitler”…
"If the world had another Hitler
Then where’d they go this time?
Would they stand aside and let him roll on through?
Or would they keep their smug expression
Or hide trembling in the dark
While some little country stood and fought for truth?"
© Third Ear, Johannesburg
In Zimbabwe, it is illegal to even mutter something under your breath in Mugabe’s general direction. Not long ago, his police force arrested a woman and had her prosecuted in court – for calling Mugabe a ‘Hitler’… Okay – maybe not the best name to call Mugabe, but then he has told the whole world that he is “Hitler – tenfold!”
Zimbabwe – the only country in the world that prosecutes people – for agreeing with the President!
The song, released back in the 1970’s, goes on to say:
"Is it any wonder that we gag
At the sanctimonious junk they try to feed us
Through the barrel of a gun?"
© Third Ear, Johannesburg
It goes without saying that the Rhodesian nation was hated for it’s stance against communism – and also for the temerity the people had, led by Ian smith, in declaring UDI from Britain in November 1965.
Few people know that Rhodesia was the second country to declare UDI from Britain – the first being the fledgling United States of America.
Another fact that is not common knowledge is that the Rhodesian government paid two million pounds in 1923 for the right to rule herself. An absolute fortune in those days – and right up until Zimbabwean Independence in April 1980, Britain kept her hand in the country’s internal matter.
Not always very welcome.
But back to the words. Look at the first few lines I quoted. True in every aspect of the words. Written and released thirty years ago! The world does stand back and let Mugabe do whatever he will.
And he ups the ante every day, threatening the entire population with ‘war’ – are these the actions of a rational man, a studious government?
No! This is the ‘sanctimonious junk’ that Mugabe has tried ‘to feed us through the barrel of a gun’ – and the entire world watches, from afar… unmoved.
If a song writer was able to foretell the current events some thirty years ago, then surely the free world should have picked up on the bitter irony today.
Zimbabweans the world over need the support and interaction of the free world. They do not deserve to be isolated because of the actions of one man – who claims to be a renewed ‘Hitler’.
“Those who fail to learn from the lessons of history, are doomed to repeat them.” (George Santayana)
Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man
